Griffins post game notes ahead of home opener vs. Milwaukee

The Grand Rapids Griffins posted their game notes ahead of tonight’s season-opener against the Milwaukee Admirals (7 PM EDT start) at Van Andel Arena:

Griffins Game #1 * Home Game #1 * AHL Game #4

Season Series: 0-0-0-0 Home Series: 0-0-0-0 Road Series: 0-0-0-0
All-Time Series: 113-83-7-9-8 All-Time Home Series: 61-39-2-3-3 All-Time Road Series: 52-44-5-6-5

Admirals at Griffins
First of eight meetings overall, first of four at Van Andel Arena…Tonight’s game is a rematch of last year’s Central Division Finals where the Admirals defeated the Griffins 3-2 in the five-game series…Last season, the Griffins went 4-3-1-0 against the Admirals…Grand Rapids is 11-15-2-0 (.429) against Milwaukee since the 2020-21 campaign…Dating back to the 2020-21 season, the Griffins are 7-6-1-0 (.536) against the Admirals in Grand Rapids with a plus-three scoring margin (40-37)…Grand Rapids has faced Milwaukee more than any other opponent – 221st meeting tonight – and the Griffins’ 113 victories against the Admirals are the most against any foe…Milwaukee has reached the Western Conference Finals in the last two postseasons, both times being defeated by Coachella Valley…Milwaukee head coach Karl Taylor enters his sixth season as head boss. Taylor has a 204-112-31-13 record (.628) with the Admirals that includes two division titles and three 40-plus win seasons, in addition to never finishing worse than third place in the Central Division…The Admirals return two of their top five scorers from last season in Zach L’Heureux (2nd) and Joakim Kemell (4th)…Austin Watson spent nine seasons within Nashville’s organization and logged 132 points (73-59—132) in 234 games with the Admirals.

This Date in Griffins History
1996: Griffins host their first-ever game at Van Andel Arena against the Orlando Solar Bears before a sold-out crowd of 10,834, but fall by a 3-1 score to the defending Eastern Conference playoff champions. Darin Smith scores the first Griffins goal in the new facility.

Continued

Monroe: Toledo Walleye install modern boards and glass, which should reduce injuries

The ECHL’s Toledo Walleye have upgraded their boards and glass at the Huntington Center, and the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe reports that the Walleye believe that the new boards and glass will help them in more ways than one:

“It’s unbelievable what they did with all the new glass, boards, benches, and everything,” [forward Conlan] Keenan said. “I really like the new wide glass. It’s going to be great for the fans as well.”

The ledge along the top of the boards and below the tempered glass, which are traditionally red, are now colored blue. The dashers at the bottom of the boards remain yellow. The scheme pairs perfectly with the team’s navy blue and gold colors. Both the home and visiting benches also have been replaced along with the penalty boxes and public address announcer box.

Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, the boards and glass also offer increased safety. Greg Setola, the director of operations at the Huntington Center, said the new system is the same that all NHL teams use with enhanced safety features.

“The glass and boards are designed to assist in limiting injuries as they naturally flex to absorb some of the impact [of hits],” Setola said. “The glass on both sides of the player benches is now rounded and spring loaded, which will assist in cutting down on upper body injuries.”

Continued

On the ‘Holl-er coaster’

The Red Wings practiced on Friday after dropping a 6-3 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, and the team will recall Justin Holl to substitute for the injured Jeff Petry, and Cam Talbot will start against the Nashville Predators tomorrow (7 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/Bally Sports South).

After Friday’s practice, forward Joe Veleno and coach Derek Lalonde spoke with the media, and the Free Press’s Helene St. James addressed the Wings’ decision to recall Holl:

“[Jeff Petry]’s day-to-day,” coach Derek Lalonde said Friday. “We’ll get through tomorrow and see if he’s available for Monday. We’re going to get Justin up, because we’ll need the righty there.”

With Petry sidelined, Moritz Seider and Holl are the only righties available. But that doesn’t mean rookie Albert Johansson won’t get a look — maybe as soon as this weekend.

“We might see Albert tomorrow,” Lalonde said. “We haven’t decided on that yet. But I’d like to get him in soon, kind of get him some game feel here.”

The Wings (0-1-0) could opt to use 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Predators. That would also ease the pressure on seeing what a defenseman can do in what would be Johansson’s NHL debut.

Update: Here’s a bit more on Johansson from the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton;

However, [coach Lalonde] also noted that the Red Wings would look at getting Albert Johansson (a healthy scratch last night) into the lineup for his NHL debut.  “I’d like to get Albert in,” Lalonde said.  “Might see Albert tomorrow.  We haven’t decided on that yet, but I would like to try to get him in soon in the season, kinda get him some game feel here.”

When asked what he likes about Johansson’s game, Lalonde replied, “the way he moves the puck, good hockey sense.”  “I like what I saw at the end of last year [in Grand Rapids], and it’s translated pretty much to pre-season,” continued Lalonde.  “Maybe tomorrow, may not be tomorrow, but I think we’re gonna get him in here pretty soon to see how he handles a real NHL game.”

Tweet of note: Hockey Hall of Fame inductions one month away

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s induction ceremonies take place on Monday, November 11th, and that’s not far off. As a result, per the Red Wings on Twitter, the Hockey Hall of Fame is reminding fans that they can still buy tickets to the induction ceremonies and Hall of Fame weekend:

Talbot thrust into the breach

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevvin Allen discusses the Red Wings coaching staff’s decision to go with Cam Talbot in goal tomorrow night vs. Nashville (7 PM EDT start on Bally Sports Detroit/Bally Sports South):

Talbot’s .911 save percentage last season had to be attractive to a Red Wings team that finished at .902. GM Steve Yzerman gave Talbot a two-year deal worth an average of $2.5 million per season. Detroit’s other goalies, [Ville] Husso and Alex Lyon, are in the last year of their contract.

Detroit’s nightmarish beginning against the Penguins wasn’t all on Husso. Despite emphasizing tighter defensive play throughout the preseason, the Red Wings could sustain defensive consistency for three full periods.

“It’s just one of those nights in which could not sustain any momentum,” Coach Derek Lalonde said. “Had signs of it, had some spurts of it, but just couldn’t sustain it. “

The Red Wings are starting the season with a challenging schedule. After facing Nashville, they have a home-and-home series with the New York Rangers, another game against the Predators and then contests against the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.

Video: Veleno, Lalonde speak with the media after Friday’s practice

The Detroit Red Wings switched up their defensive pairings during Friday’s practice as Jeff Petry (upper-body) is unavailable for Saturday’s game vs. Nashville, and coach Derek Lalonde told the Wings’ media corps that defenseman Justin Holl will be recalled for the Wings’ showdown with the Predators (though Albert Johansson will be rotated into the defensive corps at some point soon), with Cam Talbot earning the starter’s duties on Saturday night.

Still smarting from Thursday’s 6-3 home-opener loss to Pittsburgh, and in the middle of a 3-games-in-5-nights stretch, both forward Joe Veleno and Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde spoke with the media on Friday afternoon:

Video: Fox 17 reports from Van Andel Arena ahead of the Griffins’ home opener

The Grand Rapids Griffins open their 2024-2025 season against the Milwaukee Admirals tonight at Van Andel Arena, and Andy Curtis discussed the Griffins’ promotions for this evening and the “revenge factor” surrounding tonight’s game as the Admirals ousted the Griffins from the playoffs last spring:

Friday’s post-practice Tweets: Holl to be recalled, Talbot to start vs. NSH

The Detroit Red Wings shuffled their lineup slightly over the course of Friday’s practice (which took place without Jeff Petry, and with Cam Talbot in the starter’s net).

After the Wings’ mid-day skate, the coach spoke with the media, and the news about the injured Jeff Petry (upper-body) was…good?

The Red Wings will host the Nashville Predators (who lost 4-3 to Dallas last night) on Saturday, and then they’ll play the 1-and-0 New York Rangers in Manhattan on Monday night; the Rangers will come to town next Thursday, and then Detroit heads to Nashville to wrap up its season series with the Predators next Saturday.

Meanwhile, in Grand Rapids, Holl was taking part in the Grand Rapids Griffins’ game-day skate ahead of the season opener vs. Milwaukee (he’s in picture #3)…

Kind-of-sort-of praise for Axel Sandin Pellikka

EP Rinkside’s Jimmy Hamrin offers a “stock watch” assessment of various NHL prospects playing in Sweden today, and here’s what he has to say about someone whose stock “remains steady”:

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, D, Skellefteå AIK (Detroit Red Wings)

Axel Sandin-Pellikka is an interesting case, as many undersized skilled defencemen from Sweden have failed to live up to hopes of becoming the next Erik Karlsson over the past 6-7 years. However, Sandin-Pellikka seems to have better odds, as his offensive game is borderline elite. His skill and mobility along the blue line are top-notch in the SHL, and he consistently makes smart decisions with the puck. He is poised and rarely rushes a bad pass, scanning the ice and staying in control. If teams aren’t ready to defend the neutral zone when Sandin-Pellikka has the puck, he’ll hurt them.

The question for his NHL future is his ability to defend the rush, battle in front of the net, and retrieve pucks in the corners against bigger and faster opponents on the smaller rink. He isn’t an elite skater like Karlsson, and how he adapts to these situations will determine his NHL success. So far this season, his puck skills have progressed, but I have yet to see him dominate defensively or in puck retrievals.

Continued (paywall); I’m going to be honest here. I don’t think that Axel Sandin Pellikka is the next Erik Karlsson, despite his tremendous skating. He’s going to take some time and seasoning in North America to really bear down defensively, and I’m not going to freak out because he’s not the most elegant SHL’er when it comes to “dominating defensively” on the big ice.

Tweets from Friday’s practice: Petry absent from post-Pens skate; Talbot starts vs. Nashville

The Detroit Red Wings hit the ice at the BELFOR Training Center underneath Little Caesars Arena at noon on Friday, hoping to learn lessons from Thursday’s 6-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins in short order:

The heralded Nashville Predators will come to town tomorrow night (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit; Nashville lost its home opener 4-3 to Dallas), and then the Wings then head to New York to battle the Rangers (who defeated Pittsburgh 6-0 on Wednesday) on Monday evening.

The Wings will then host the same Rangers next Thursday, and head to Nashville to wrap up their home-in-home series against the Predators next Saturday night.

Detroit’s obviously not going to receive any favors from their highly-ranked opponents over the next week, so the Red Wings dug in during Friday’s practice in order to rebound from an embarrassing home opener:

Continue reading Tweets from Friday’s practice: Petry absent from post-Pens skate; Talbot starts vs. Nashville